Anyone hunt with a 303 British Enfield? I'm having a problem getting mine to shoot consistent groups. Bullets seem to have a mind of their own and fly wherever they want, no matter what I do. Scope is torqued properly. Tried different ammo, both factory and reloads. 150 grain, 180 grain. Doesn't matter. I can't zero it. Got a mind of its own.
Its impossible to diagnose your problem without looking at the rifle but I have 7 British .303 rifles , one the much and unjustly denigrated "Jungle Carbine" and 6 No. 4 MK I's and every one is a tack driver. I have used various diameter jacketed bullets with no problem and mostly now shoot just cast bullet loads which again are outstandingly accurate and of course low cost to make and shoot.
All my Enfields have the 5 groove barrels, none the two groove barrels.
You did not state which model you have but "Herbert McBride" the famous Canadian/American sniper of WWI did state that the WWI Enfield, the MK III, was too inaccurate for sniping at long range. The British were well aware of this as well that is why the WWII No. 4 had a heavier barrel and most people do not know this but a partially floated barrel. Take a look sometime at the inside bottom of the forend and you will see deep wells separated by cross ridges of wood.
The other problem with all the Enfields was a horrendously heavy 8lb trigger pull. Mastering that trigger takes a lot of practice and "I am not" telling you to alter the trigger pull as there is great controversy surrounding this practice. I was so exasperated over this that I once on line said that I was going to ditch all of my Enfields until a guy from Britain sent me pages of tech data on the Enfield and also how to lighten the trigger pull. This I did and brought the trigger pulls down from 8lbs to 3 lbs and even 2 lbs.
Since parts now have become very scarce and expensive I do not recommend anyone "try this at home" because if you screw up you just ruined a historic military rifle.
Others have said that altering the trigger pull cuts through the case hardening and that the pull will soon disintegrate making the weapon unsafe to shoot but this has not happened to my Enfields but I do not pour thousands of rounds through them either, especially now that the cost of powder is now out of this world.
The cost of ammo has now become so outrageous most people I know have quite shooting centerfire and have gone back to their boyhood hobby of shooting the ubiquitous .22 rimfire and even quality ammo for them is outrageous costing $15 to $20 a box but since most people are weekend sandbag plinkers the good old standby Remington Thunder Turd does just fine in any low cost .22 plinker.
On the other hand if you are into competition benchrest shooting rifles costing as much as $3,000 do not win matches with any ammo except the super expensive match ammo. Your scores with plinker ammo would have you laughed off of the range.
Yes I often sit and think, as a starry eyed kid in the 50's starting out with a single shot $15.00 (new) Savage Springfield Rifle shooting 50 cent a box ammo, I have now gone full circle and ended up in old age once again shooting a single shot match rifle ($3,000) in .22 rimfire with $18 a box ammo.
